Stylish Stockholm Syndrome
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: It's the end of the gang's last year at Hillwood and Curly's run out of ways to get Rhonda's attention. He's desperate, and after a year of planning, he's finally come up with a close-to-flawless plan. Spiking Rhonda's drink at the prom after party seems to work, and Rhonda finds herself kidnapped. But her feelings begin to change. Is she in love...or is she just going insane? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, what's up? Well, these two have been in my head for way too long. Rhonda's been yelling at me for two weeks, I mean, see this:**

**Rhonda: SideshowJazz1, are you going to write about me ever?**

**Me: If I write about you, will you go along with me and fall for Curly?**

**Rhonda: Me? Are you crazy? Me fall for that little freak?**

**Me: *smirks* Yes, Rhonda. I'm in charge here.**

**Rhonda: *sighs* I hate you. Fine, as long as you write about me and let me go...**

**So I present to you a story about Stockholm Syndrome. Full of RhondaXCurly, since there isn't enough love for these two. I mean, I'm first and foremost an AXH fan, but these two aren't paired up enough!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from "Hey Arnold", and if I said I did, it means I need Helga to come knock some sense back into me with her fists. But I own this story. Enjoy!**

"_Kidnapping's not my game. Too messy." - Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe, "Ransom"_

Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd stared moodily into her mirror, pushing her straightener through the last lock of hair. It curled again, and Rhonda sighed irritably.

"Stupid cheap straighteners." she muttered. She usually wouldn't have used that particular make of straighteners, but her old ones had broken two days before and she didn't have enough time to get one from any place except Wal-Mart. Still, she had to admit, apart from her hair problem, she looked fabulous. Her short black skirt, her figure-hugging strapless red top, her high stiletto heels – and the figure she wanted. Her makeup was done perfectly, her clothes were in the classic style that would never go out of fashion, and apart from the slight curl on one side of her hair, the dark strands were perfect.

There was a knock on her door. "Rhonda, darling, Nadine's here!" her mother's voice called.

"Coming, Mom!" Rhonda called back. Nadine was Rhonda's best friend and second-in-command, and the two girls usually hung out together at school...not that they'd be at school any more. Tonight was their last ever prom, and then the after party, when everyone would go back to her mansion. The main reason Rhonda was in a bad mood was because she didn't have a date. She'd never gone to anything without a date since she was ten years old. It wasn't like she hadn't been asked to prom a few times. Sid had asked her, but she'd turned him down. Harold had also asked her, but she turned him down too, this time mainly because she knew he'd only asked her because he wanted a date and he couldn't bring Patty, his girlfriend, since she'd graduated before them (Harold was twenty-one, but he'd been held back a few years, while Patty was two years ahead of him in brains even though she was a year or so younger). And while Rhonda had expected it, she'd reacted the most negatively when Curly tried to ask her. Even at the age of eighteen, the kid kept his childhood nickname, although most people couldn't blame him (who would want to be called Thaddeus?). But not only had Curly's name not changed, but nor had his personality. He was still less than sane, a bit creepy, and still crazy for Rhonda. Sure, he'd become taller than her and his teenage years had turned him into one of the best-looking guys in the school, but all Rhonda had to do was look at his face – the hidden eyes, the manic grin – and see the psychopath that had stalked her. Of the three boys that she turned down, it was Curly who she'd been the most firm about.

Of course, it wasn't like Rhonda had any shortage of dates before. She'd had multiple boyfriends. She'd even briefly dated Arnold in freshman year, but both decided that they were better off as friends. Arnold had started dating Helga in junior year, anyway, and they were going to prom together.. No one had expected Helga to even say yes to one date (well, no one had noticed the uncharacteristically sly smirks on the faces of both Phoebe and Lila), but after two years of being together, they still seemed to be going strong. Gerald, of course, had asked Phoebe to the prom. Even in fourth grade, Gerald had been flirting with her and making her giggle, so it was inevitable. Everyone except Rhonda had a date, except for Nadine, who had gently turned down Peapod Kid so she could keep her best friend company (although now he was known as Peapod Guy).

But, after all, it was prom, and date or no date, wavy or straight hair, Rhonda was determined to enjoy herself. She pasted her best smile onto her face as she hurried downstairs to join Nadine.

"Hey, Rhonda." her best friend greeted her. "Ready for the prom?"

"Of course, Nadine." Rhonda responded in her usual tone, confident with a touch of superiority. "Let's go knock those guys dead."

The prom was everything Rhonda had expected – innocent, sweet, but fun. The teenagers that actually came together stayed together for most of the night, occasionally dancing with someone else. Everyone was joining in. Even Brainy asked Helga to dance at one point. She'd accepted reluctantly since Arnold was talking to some of the guys at the time, but she'd warned him what she'd do if he asked her again – punch him in the face, as she always did.

But it was the after party that everyone was looking forward to. Even when Rhonda was a kid, she was always the one that threw parties, and most of the time, they were good. She'd learned from her mistake the time she'd only invited the kids on the "cool" list to her party, and it was so Rhonda-centred that everyone left after they discovered Arnold was holding a party for everyone that wasn't on her list. In her teenage years, party invitations weren't necessary, and this party held the promise to be the wildest, since it would be one of the last chances for most of the kids, since most of them were going off to college after the summer and only a few were staying in Hillwood.

Rhonda had her own suite at her house that was like a mini-mansion, and she'd promised to keep the after party there. It was still pretty huge, and the party went on for a long time. Everyone seemed to be getting drunk and just generally enjoying everything.

Well, nearly everyone.

One person stood in the shadows, his dark eyes following one girl in particular. He stayed on the sidelines, staying focused. No one else noticed. As it had been for years, no one noticed unless he did something drastic, something that everyone would see. He smirked bitterly to himself. That was why the plan was so perfect. No one would remember he was even there.

He'd kept away from her for the last year, only admiring her from afar, and only now had the perfect plan come to him. He'd had to check it through several times to pinpoint any flaws, and he could now proudly say that his plan was completely flawless.

The intoxicated girl turned away from her vodka-filled glass for a moment, setting it down near him. He could hardly believe his luck.

"I'm sorry to have to do something so desperate, Rhonda," he murmured, "But I had no choice. There's only one way you can look past what you've always seen. Rhonda, my love, I will win you, no matter what." He pulled out the liquid-filled pill and slipped it into Rhonda's glass, just before she turned to pick it up, still not realizing he was there.

Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe's eyes were bright and alert behind his glasses. Even without the frightening smile on his face and his eyes hidden, he would have looked as insane as ever. Within 24 hours, Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd would be all his.

**Curly's still that twisted psychopath he always was, albeit pretty cute. So...what do you think of my first chapter? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, shall we continue? Oh, and refer to the last disclaimer if you care about that, I'm too lazy to write one for every single chapter. Thanks for reviewing, 1st cavusarmy.**

Rhonda was first aware of the familiar hangover pain overwhelming her. But strangely enough, she was sure more of her memory was blocked out than usual. Memories lurked below the surface, memories that didn't disappear because of the vodka she drank. She had a vague memory of being outside, a voice whispering something inaudible, being held close. She wasn't properly awake at the time, she could tell.

Rhonda didn't open her eyes, but she meant to move her hand to make sure she hadn't lost all her clothes. That was when she realized there were bonds on her hands. Her hand wasn't leaving her side any time soon, but she felt the material of her designer skirt, and was relieved. She wasn't a slut. In fact, Rhonda, while not being a virgin, had only slept with two of her boyfriends, and both times she was completely in control.

Finally, she opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight, wishing she could sleep off the hangover, but knowing from experience that once she was awake, she always stayed awake. That was when she realized several things that weren't right.

She was not in her room.

Her hands were tied to her sides and her legs were tied together.

She was in the back of a car that was being driven who knows where, and:

Her top was creased.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" a familiar voice said from the driver's seat cheerfully. "Nice to see you're finally awake, I was worried that I'd gotten the dose wrong."

Rhonda's still fuzzy mind was still trying to take in everything else, and her mind didn't register the voice. Finally, she heard herself say something she immediately wished she hadn't, as it sounded completely stupid. "How did...how did you know I was awake?" Her voice was croaking, and as she spoke, her throat felt like sandpaper.

"Oh, I've been keeping an eye on you through the mirrors." the driver answered casually. "And by the way, you should be able to reach the water Thermos. I guessed you'd want some water after last night."

Rhonda was able to slide one hand out of the ropes to reach the Thermos, although she noticed that her other hand was too tightly bound. She pushed herself up carefully and drank the water. That was finally when she got a glimpse of her driver through one of the car mirrors and her mind finally jerked back into action, in spite of the killer pain that was still in her head.

"Curly?!" she gasped angrily. "What the – what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Taking my chance." Curly replied, like it was normal to drug a girl, tie her up and then drive off with her. "I spiked your drink last night. The ropes are just so you wouldn't attack me and make me crash."  
Rhonda glared. "And you did this, why?"  
"Because, my love, you rejected me. You wouldn't give me a real chance. You're the only girl I've ever wanted, and since you wouldn't acknowledge me before, I had to do something. I want to show you how much I love you, and if this is the only way, I'll do it."

"So where are you taking me?" Rhonda demanded.  
"Away from Hillwood." Curly answered. "Somewhere where no one will interrupt us."

"You still won't get away with this." Rhonda claimed. "When everyone realizes I'm gone, my parents will have every cop and detective out looking for me. I give it 48 hours tops before they find me. And when they do, you'll be thrown into the nuthouse, where you belong." she finished with satisfaction.

"I knew there would be risks." Curly admitted, sighing dramatically. "But what was I meant to do? Let my planning amount to nothing? I wanted to get over you, Rhonda, of course I did. I tried, angel, but I couldn't do it. But you'd never look at me twice if you could help it."

"Is it any wonder, after what you put me through over the years?" Rhonda snapped. Curly had been stalking her since they were kids, asking her out, kissing her against her will, doing just about anything he could think of. The incident in fourth grade when he blackmailed her into pretending to be his girlfriend for a week stood out, although he'd eventually taken pity and let her go.

"I admit that some of my past actions were unorthodox." Curly answered, sighing again. "But I can't ignore my heart's design. This time, things will be different."

"Yes, it will be." Rhonda said stubbornly. "Because we won't be communicating. I'm not going to talk to you unless I really want to know something or say something. So I am going to ask again, _where the hell are you taking me_?"

"Here." Curly pulled up outside a block of apartments. Rhonda had barely noticed the scenery as it rolled past, but now they were in an unfamiliar town. He got out of the car, then went to the back to untie her and help her out, although she put up a fight, trying to make a break for it the minute she was out of the car. Curly had grown up to be very strong, and now he was taller than her, so he restrained the girl easily by wrapping a possessive arm around her shoulders. It would've looked like affection to anyone else, and in Curly's view, part of it was, but Rhonda knew what the true reason was. As the two of them walked into the building, as the elevator shot up to the ninth floor, as Curly led her into the apartment he had bought for them, she knew that no matter what happened next, her life would be very different for as long as he had his way.

Curly was going over the plans in his mind. He was determined to make Rhonda enjoy this. He wasn't going to push her too far before she was ready, and he would do all he could to make her stay in the apartment comfortable. In the end, he theorized, she wouldn't want to leave. She'd want to stay with him. But until then, he'd have to keep her in. He wasn't going to have her locked up all the time, of course, but until his hopeful day arrived, she'd only leave the apartment if she was with him. Otherwise, he was sure, she would run. He also didn't have a phone installed, and only used his own cellphone. If Rhonda had access to a phone, she'd be talking to everyone about what was going on.

Above all, Curly vowed, he would make Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd his girl. And once he was through, she would be his and his alone willingly.

**Having bought a few DVDs makes me want to update! I hope you liked this chapter, so give me a few ideas what should come next. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**OK, let's continue on this, shall we?  
Curly: Yes! Yes!**

**Me: OK, how the heck did you get in here? I made this Author's Note nutcase-proof.**

**Rhonda: Leave her alone, you freak, she's writing anyway.**

**Me: And I meant it to keep you out, too. Go away and make out or something.**

**Curly: Rhonda, sweetie...**

**Rhonda: Ew, get away from me! Oh, and thank you for your reviews, 1st cavusarmy and Beth.**

As the days passed, nothing seemed to be any different. Rhonda barely said a word except to ask questions, no matter what happened. It frustrated Curly, but that was the only thing that did. He had enough money to live on with a job where he didn't have to leave the apartment, no one had found them, and he could look at his princess whenever he wanted, although if he spent more than ten seconds, she'd usually glare at him and then storm out of that particular room.

It wasn't like neither of them ever saw the light of day. Just because Curly's job was at home didn't mean that he never had to go out. Occasionally, he left Rhonda, locking her in, but most of the time, he took her with him. About 50% of the time, he took her out for meals and a few times, he even offered to take her shopping, knowing that was her favourite thing to do. He'd taken Rhonda's wallet with them, so she still had her allowance paid into her account and her credit cards. She never bothered to acknowledge his efforts, but he didn't let that affect him.

Any other person would've lost all patience after a week of living with an non-responsive hostage, but not Curly. Apart from the fact that he had Rhonda against her will, he treated her with the adoration and love he always harboured for her. He tried not to go over the top, knowing that would just annoy her more, but he couldn't help being a bit dramatic.

Rhonda convinced herself that the first week locked up was the worst time of her life. She'd never gone so long without her cellphone, and she didn't have many of the luxuries she was used to. As far as she was concerned, the only good thing was that the apartment had two beds, even though there was only one bedroom. And as far as she knew, Curly was treating her with the respect she required from everyone. But then, she didn't know that he lay awake for hours at night, watching her sleep and listening to her breathing. And of course, if she'd been awake when he finally fell asleep and heard his sleeptalking about some of the fantasies he had about them, she would've been nearly ready to kill herself just to get out of the situation.

The only thing that frustrated and even puzzled Curly was Rhonda's silence. It was so out-of-character for her to be able to stay quiet for so long. Rhonda was always vocal, especially when she was angry, sad, or frustrated, which, Curly could tell, was the majority of her emotions around him. He could see that she was furious at that moment, but instead of screaming at him the way she usually did, she went to the other extreme, and he hated it. He'd rather listen to the replay of the way Rhonda broke up with him in fourth grade looped than continue having her silent. At least he'd be able to listen to her voice. He could still remember every hurtful word the nine-year-old Rhonda threw at him. "_Curly, you're a low-down, despicable creep. It's over between us. I never want to speak to you again. Now crawl back under the rock you came out of, you slug."_ Then she'd given back the shirt he'd given her that had "_Curly's Girl" _on it.

Just because Curly didn't lose it after a week of living with a silent hostage, it didn't mean he didn't start trying everything he could think of to make Rhonda talk. He'd tried to draw her into conversation before, but no matter what he talked about, she'd never say anything except to ask a necessary question. He even tried talking about the new fashion line in a magazine, and she simply folded her arms and turned away.

First, Curly tried bribery, finding her the latest fashionable dresses, but that didn't work. Even when she didn't talk, it was enough of a treat to see her wearing them. He did try cutting the labels out of said dresses and even burned one, but that only gave him one sentence from Rhonda: "Leave my stuff alone from now on, or else!"

He tried to get a rise out of her by unexpectedly coming out of nowhere to try and make out with her, but she seemed to have worked out that was what he wanted, and waited patiently for him to pause before running to the bathroom and locking the door.

It was halfway through the second week when Rhonda was sitting on the edge of her bed, sighing and staring out of the window, wishing she could fly out. She'd tried escape a few times, mostly when they were out together. She'd go to the restrooms, but Curly wasn't easily tricked. He waited outside the doors for her so there was no way she could slip through a gap. There weren't any big enough windows in most bathrooms, he theorized, so he could keep Rhonda without drawing too much attention to himself. At this particular point in time, Curly was on the other side of the room, watching her. Guilt bubbled up inside him. He hated himself for stealing Rhonda's freedom. But he didn't have the strength to let her go again and go on.

He thought of one more way that might get Rhonda to talk. He casually walked over to Rhonda's bed, sitting cross-legged behind her. Then he reached out and started to carefully massage her shoulders.

Rhonda obviously hadn't been expecting that. "What do you think you're doing, and who said you could touch me?" she demanded instinctively.

Curly allowed himself a triumphant smirk. He'd gotten her to say two things. "I'm doing exactly what you'd think I'd be doing – massaging your shoulders." he grinned. "You would not believe how much tension there is."

Rhonda subconsciously leaned further back as Curly continued. She wanted to pull away and lock herself in the bathroom again, but somehow, she couldn't. This wasn't like the times he jumped her. She didn't want him to even touch her, whether he was kissing her, holding her hand...but this was different. It was safe, sweet, and (for Curly, at least) it was a subtle gesture. And it felt nice.

The kidnapper and hostage sat in comfortable silence for the next few minutes. Then, finally, Rhonda pulled away, heading for the bathroom as she always did. "Just because I let you do that for a few minutes, don't fool yourself." she called over her shoulder. "I still despise you with the fire of a thousand suns, and under most circumstances, I'm still not going to talk to you."

Curly continued to smirk. It looked like he'd found a way to get his girl to slightly soften. "Whatever you say, Rhonda."

**Wow, this isn't good for Rhonda. This is the first step. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**OK, this'll be interesting. BTW, I do not own "Never Gonna Happen". That belongs to Lily Allen, as far as I know. Thanks for reviewing, Beth and 1st cavusarmy.**

Fine, so Rhonda continued to stay silent for the rest of the day. But Curly had figured out what type of character traits he should show. Dramatics were not what Rhonda wanted, he could see that now. The only way to make any progress with her was with subtlety and sweetness.

It'd be hard, and Curly knew it. "_But it's my one chance to show my love that I'm more than that crazy kid I used to be!" _he reminded himself. "_I can pull this off."_

But after that one incident, Rhonda seemed to become a little less Ice Queen. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Curly started to convince himself that she didn't hate him as much as she had. He continued to devote himself to her, but tried to be a little more detached. When he was working, he didn't pay any attention to Rhonda, except to occasionally look up and ask her how she was. She would usually just shrug, but occasionally she'd say "As always."

Curly still took Rhonda out frequently, but as far as she saw, he didn't stare at her intently for hours, and his whole world didn't seem to revolve around her, which was pleasing. After years of this attention, it was refreshing to have him moderating it. If it had been completely lost, Rhonda knew she would have missed it, as much as she hated to admit it. But on the other hand, Curly still giving her a lot of attention but not so much that it was obsessive and creepy was actually...nice. And he was still considerate. He stopped his surprise attacks with pulling her into a hug from behind, or trying to kiss her. Anything that could be described as a surprise attack was just grabbing her hand, or putting an arm around her.

A week of this less-than-obsessive behaviour seemed to pay off. By the end of the week, Rhonda started speaking again. Granted, her most likely words were along the lines of talking about leaving, or whining about her outfits getting creased or needing to be dry-cleaned. "At least you could do that at home with your parents' dry-cleaner's, but here we only have a washing machine!"

It was on a Friday that Curly went out, one of the rare times he was on his own. He'd asked Rhonda if she wanted to go with him, but she'd declined, so he'd locked the door from the outside and left. But when he came back, a singing voice from the inside stopped him.

"_How on earth could I be any more obvious?_

_It never really did and now it's never gonna happen with the two of us._

_I don't understand what it is that you're chasing after,_

_But it makes me really sad to hear you sound so desperate, it just makes it harder."_

The song was playing on the radio in the background, but Curly was more focused on the voice, and when he opened the door, he found Rhonda, eyes closed, singing along to the music; "_I can see how it's confusing,_

_It could be considered using when I call you up straight out of the blue_

_But I don't understand what else a girl in my position's to do..."_

But she obviously heard the door open and close, because she opened her eyes and immediately stopped, although the English-accented voice on the radio continued to sing "_Now I know you feel betrayed but it's been weeks since I got..."_

"Don't stop on my account." Curly said. "You can continue."

Rhonda switched the radio off in reply. "I don't know the rest of the song."

"What song is it anyway?" Curly asked curiously. "I don't listen to the radio that much."

"'Never Gonna Happen'." Rhonda answered. "Lily Allen."

"The English pop singer? I think I know her." She nodded, and a smirk crept onto Curly's face. "You've got good taste. And may I add, an amazing singing voice."

Rhonda's tan skin became flushed with pink, and she looked at the floor as she blushed. "That wasn't really normal, me singing." she muttered, looking anywhere but at him. "I don't sing much."

At that moment, Curly became a bit thoughtful. He knew some of Lily Allen's music, and even had a few mp3s of her songs. "Wait...I think I do know that song." He played the music he thought it was, and Rhonda's blush deepened as the female voice sang.

"_I don't wanna hurt you cause I don't think it's a virtue_

_But you and I have come to our end._

_Believe me when I tell you that I never wanna see you again_

_And please can you stop calling cause it's getting really boring_

_And I've told you I don't want to be friends_

_Believe me when I tell you that I never want to see you again."_

Curly immediately understood why Rhonda had turned off the radio and started blushing. Rhonda had said over and over again that she didn't like him, she never would like him, and that she didn't ever want to hear from him. The words of that first verse reflected exactly what she'd been saying to him all of those years. And as the chorus played, he realized that although this wasn't exactly something she'd said, he could tell she'd been thinking it.

"_This isn't good for me." _he thought. "_I have to turn around her idea of me. I know how she thinks of me – that it's over and she wants me to go away, and I'm desperate. Well, she's right, I am desperate...but only for her. It's always been her."_

Rhonda quietly got up and went into the bedroom. As she did so, Curly slapped himself, trying to get back into the real world. "_OK, so she still doesn't really like me. But I have to do something to show her I'm not just some desperate little psycho!" _Anyone else could have told Curly what he really needed to do, but the thought didn't enter his mind.

Meanwhile, Rhonda lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been almost three weeks locked in the apartment, and she hated it. Her silence had been broken, and she was thinking that being stuck with Curly wasn't quite as horrifying as she remembered from her brief time as his girlfriend in fourth grade, but she still wished that she could just run, that she had the chance to escape.

"_Why hasn't anyone found me yet?" _she wondered miserably. "_Don't Mommy and Daddy even care? Do my friends even realize I'm gone?"_

She wished she knew what was happening back in Hillwood.

**We'll go back to Hillwood in the next chapter. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Now, let's see what's happening back at Rhonda's home. Thanks for reviewing, Beth and both guest reviewers.**

Nadine stared at the phone, wishing it would ring. It had been three weeks since the prom, and her best friend seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. She hadn't been there in the morning, and no one seemed to remember seeing her.

Most of the graduates were worried about Rhonda, particularly the ones that had gone through grade school with her. Lila Sawyer, the sweetest of the girls, had been in floods of tears. Helga had only curiously wondered if Rhonda was OK, although she hadn't seemed too concerned. She was forever arguing with Rhonda, although she'd become a lot less antagonistic since she had started dating Arnold – who was one of the most worried.

The police were still trying to find leads on where she had gone.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Nadine immediately pushed the _Talk _button. "Hello?"

"Hi, Nadine."

"Hello, Lila. What's up?"

"I think there might be some leads on what might have happened to Rhonda." Lila answered.

"Really?" Nadine said excitedly.

"The police found traces of some kind of pill in one of the glasses at the after party. They've found fingerprints on the glass matching Rhonda's DNA. Someone at the party must've spiked her drink."

"So...what does that mean?" Nadine asked.

Lila gave a sigh. "That means that someone that was there must know something about what happened. Rhonda definitely had no choice in her disappearance."

"So? Have they checked out everyone?"

"They're probably going to question everyone our age from our school." Lila said. "Just a heads-up."

Sure enough, everyone that was at the party was questioned. The police kept all information confidential, but rumours seemed to slip out anyway. The girls were all cleared pretty quickly, but most of the guys were being questioned more closely.

It was Phoebe who thought of something that might help. She messaged Nadine on Facebook. "_Hey, just thought – did anyone ask Rhonda to the prom? Who did she go with?"_

Nadine answered "_She didn't go with anyone. Sid and Harold asked her, but she turned them both down. Oh, and of course, Curly asked her, as usual."_

"_Do you think any of them might know something?"_

"_Well, Harold only asked her because he couldn't ask Patty, so we can rule him out with that. I know Sid was hurt, but he wouldn't really do that. And if Curly knows something, I wouldn't be surprised, but Rhonda's turned him down loads of times already, so I have to wonder why he hasn't done anything before."_

The two girls messaged other people, asking them what they thought. They got a variety of answers back.

"_That twisted little freak...he'd do anything."_

"_Curly? Well, I remember how he sometimes snaps. You might be on to something."_

"_Nope, Curly wouldn't be able to pull this off, he loves the dramatic too much to not want an audience."_

"_Considering the way he chases Rhonda, I could see that."_

"_Why doesn't someone just go see if Curly's still at home? If he's not, I think we can agree he's probably gone somewhere and taken Rhonda with him."_

The Gammelthorpes said Curly had been in touch and they knew he was OK, but they didn't know where he was or if anyone was with him. But many of the other students thought that he had Rhonda, and judging by everything they knew, she wouldn't have gone willingly with him.

It was a disturbing thought, Rhonda kidnapped by Curly. None of the students were sure what he'd do, but whatever it was couldn't be good for his hostage.

"He probably won't hurt her." Sheena pointed out. "He really does love her, and he would've snapped years ago if he was going to with regards to her."

"You can't be sure about that." Sid remarked nervously. "He has been pretty quiet recently. He always goes really quiet before doing something crazy." He shuddered. "What if he killed her or something...or worse?"

"I'm scared for her." Lila admitted. "Ever so scared."

"Guys, speculating on what Curly is up to won't help anything." Arnold pointed out. "We don't even know if he actually has Rhonda."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Hello? He has a creepy obsession with her, Football Head. He's the only one that could and would pull it off." Even after two years of dating, she never stopped using her favourite name for Arnold, although it had become more of a term of endearment. That said, she mostly used it when she was frustrated.

"Whatever." Arnold brushed that off. "The point is, if he does have her, the only way to help Rhonda is to try and find out where they are. Does anyone have Curly's email address or any other way of contacting him, possibly anonymously?"

"Not anonymously." was the general answer. Most people had him as a Facebook friend. Phoebe stepped forward with a smile.

"I'm not bad with computers." she said shyly. "I could probably do something so we could contact him anonymously, which gives us a chance that he might give himself away. Meanwhile, someone contact him as yourself, but don't act suspicious, and whatever you do, don't ask him if he knows where Rhonda is. But mention that she's disappeared."

"Uhh..." the wheezing voice came from the group. Everyone turned to look at the speaker.

"I'll...message him..." Brainy said between wheezes. Everyone acknowledged this, and turned back to continue planning.

An hour later, Brainy was at his computer, on Facebook. He messaged Curly immediately. "_Hi."_

Five minutes later, Curly appeared online and opened a chat. "_Hi!"_

"_So you haven't disappeared?" _Brainy wrote.

"_I'm not that far away."_

"_We all miss you here."_

"_Sorry. I've got a job here. I'll be back sometime."_

"_So where is 'here'?"_

"_Kilometres away."_

Brainy paused. Curly was definitely acting suspicious. It was like him to give cryptic answers sometimes, but he seemed to specifically avoid saying where he was. But he couldn't very well interrogate him, so he simply wrote "_Did you hear about Rhonda?"_

"_What?" _Curly wrote.

"_She's disappeared. No one's seen her since the party after prom. Everyone's really worried."_

"_Oh yeah, that party. I left pretty early. Didn't really see her."_

"_The police found some kind of date-rape drug in her drink. Everyone that was at the party Is still being interrogated. In fact, they still want to find you." _Brainy warned.

"_Whatever." _was Curly's answer. Then he signed off.

Brainy was silent, as usual. Only his heavy breathing broke the silence. He searched Facebook again and found Nadine's Wall.

"_One thing I know for sure." _he wrote. "_Curly is definitely acting more suspiciously than usual. And I'm almost certain that he has Rhonda with him."_

**Back to our main couple next chapter. Hope you enjoyed that, and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Now, let's see how Rhonda's coping. Thanks for reviewing, 1st cavusarmy and Beth.**

Curly clicked out of Facebook. Brainy was getting too close to the truth for comfort.

"Who are you talking to?" Rhonda asked, glancing up just as he closed the chat. She was curled up on the sofa, reading a magazine. Well, really, she was just staring at some of the hottest new accessories.

"No one." Curly answered quickly. Too quickly.

Rhonda picked up on it. "So, has someone at home guessed that I'm stuck with you?"

"I said, I wasn't talking to anyone at home."

"Oh, really?" Rhonda got up and made a grab for the laptop. But Curly's reflexes were quicker. By the time she had the laptop, he'd already logged out, and Rhonda had no way to log in. It was another precaution taken to make sure she couldn't alert anyone to where she was. At that moment, she groaned.

"I just wanted to know who you were talking to!"

Curly sighed. "OK, OK, if you must know, Brainy wanted to warn me about the police. Don't worry," he grinned, "They can't find us here."

Rhonda scowled. "That's what I'm worried about." she snapped. "I'm going crazy, trapped here."

It was only that day that the story was on the news. When Rhonda reclined on the sofa to watch TV that evening, a picture of her appeared on the screen.

"_Eighteen-year-old Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd went missing from her house three weeks ago, with no trace, and evidence has been found that she had been drugged at the time, leading to the belief that she has been taken against her will, possibly assaulted or abused in some way. Her family and friends are extremely worried about her wellbeing, and urge anyone to come forward if they have any information about her. There is a reward of $500,000 for her safe return." _Another picture appeared on the screen. "_Sources have suggested that Rhonda's disappearance may be connected to the disappearance of classmate Thaddeus Gammelthorpe. However, there are no developments or confirmations made."_

Rhonda's parents made an appearance, begging whoever had their daughter to let her go. Nadine also appeared on the news, explaining why they thought Curly's disappearance was connected to Rhonda's.

"_Over the years, ever since we were little kids, he's always had unrequited feelings for Rhonda, and he is prone to snapping, so it's plausible that he had something to do with her. If you're watching this, Curly, and you do have Rhonda, please, please, don't hurt her. Let her go."_

Seeing her best friend and parents made Rhonda feel very homesick. Curly, on the other hand, felt indignant.

"As if I'd ever hurt you!" he exclaimed to Rhonda. "I hate to have done even this."

Rhonda couldn't find it in her to be angry any more. "I know." she muttered. "But I miss my family and my friends."

Curly watched her for a moment, then smiled as an idea came to him. "I know!" he said. "I'll let you make a video call to someone on Facebook, just to let them know you're OK. But I'm sure you know that I'll cut the call off if you try to tell them where you are. And make it quick, OK? I can't imagine there'd be too much to tell."

At that moment, it didn't matter to Rhonda that she was still a prisoner. At least she'd finally be able to talk to someone. She could have almost hugged Curly. Almost.

He logged her into the computer and let her log into Facebook. Most of her elementary school friends were online. Nadine wasn't, so she decided to message Lila, who was pretty much her second-best friend, and possibly even more concerned. And she knew Lila had a video camera on her computer, so she clicked on the little camera icon before typing "_Lila, u there?" _into the chat box.

"Hello..." Lila's voice said uncertainly as her pretty freckled face came into view on the computer.

"Lila!" Rhonda exclaimed happily. "It's so good to be able to talk to you!"

"Rhonda, you're OK!" Lila cried. "Where are you? What happened? We're all trying to find you."

"Well, I'm kind of...being watched while I'm making this call," Rhonda said, "So I can't really incriminate anyone, and I honestly don't know what town I'm in or how far away I am. I've only been allowed to talk to you at all to let you and everyone else know I'm OK."  
"Oh." Lila looked a bit crestfallen, but smiled sweetly nonetheless. "I'll have to tell everyone. They'll be ever so happy that you're OK. You are OK, right? No one's hurt you?"

Rhonda smiled a little. "Well, apart from being kept here, I'm completely fine. Truthfully," she lowered her voice, "It's not so bad here. Apart from feeling like a bird in a gilded cage, I sort of like it. Anyway, I suppose there's not much left to talk about except some of the new dresses I've got. What do you think of this Gucci one? Isn't it just fabulous?" She stood up to show Lila.

Two minutes later, the girls had to say their goodbyes. "Tell everyone I miss them and that I wish I could talk to them." Rhonda said. "Well, don't say that to _everyone_ – you know who I mean." Rhonda's various boyfriends had mostly been dumped because they'd been jerks to her. It was a disadvantage of being both wealthy and beautiful. Only two of her ex-boyfriends, including Arnold, were nice and had stayed friendly with her. She certainly didn't miss the ones she'd dumped for being gold-diggers. Either that, or they'd been cheating on her. She had to admit, that was one thing that she did kind of like about Curly. He definitely hadn't tried to push boundaries (apart from the kidnapping itself), he'd never wanted her for her money, and he was obviously totally devoted to her and her alone.

"I will." Lila promised. "And Rhonda? We all miss you, too. We'll probably all have a few answers to say, so check your Facebook Inbox in 24 hours."

Rhonda smiled brightly, sighing as she went to the button that would cut her off. "Goodbye, Lila." She closed the Google Chrome window.

She turned back to Curly for a moment. "Thanks." she said, so softly and quickly that Curly wasn't sure he'd heard her right.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"I said thanks." Rhonda said, a tint of red covering her face. "You let me talk to Lila. You knew that I could've told her anything. You know that even if you'd cut off the call quickly, I could've told her that it was you."

At that moment, Curly felt a surge of happiness. If she thought that and she hadn't told Lila, then didn't that mean...he struggled to keep the joyous emotion in, not showing it. That wouldn't help. "So," he asked softly, "Why didn't you?"

Rhonda blushed even more. "Um..." she stammered. "I guess...I guess I've gotten used to being here. And you'd been kind of generous in letting me talk to Lila at all. I've had a lot of time to reflect on being here, and I've concluded that it could be much worse. I stand by what I told you in fourth grade. You're an OK guy. Some of the time."

As Rhonda left the room, Curly smirked to himself. His plan was starting to work out. Rhonda no longer hated him.

However, he could tell he'd have to keep on the same path he was already. Letting Rhonda talk to her friends, doting on her without smothering...if he continued to do that, her falling for him was inevitable.

**Don't tell me Curly's too conniving in here, I can imagine him having the mind of an evil genius. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**OK, so let's continue on this. Thanks for your review, Beth and 1st cavusarmy.**

Curly had decided to let Rhonda talk to people on Facebook, but he was sure to hover every time, out of range of the video camera, but just so he'd be close enough if Rhonda let anything slip. He monitored her chats if she wasn't using the video, checking to make sure she hadn't said anything.

Back at home, Lila had told everyone about her talk with Rhonda. "She says she's fine, that she's being treated well." she admitted. "But she doesn't really want to be there."

Nadine was pleasantly surprised when she was on Facebook and Rhonda requested a video chat.

"I missed you so much! Where are you?" she exclaimed.

Rhonda shrugged on camera. "I still don't know the name of the town," she admitted, "But it's smaller than home. I missed you too."

"So Lila said you said you were being watched." Nadine said. "Is whoever it is still there? Who is it?"

Nadine saw her friend's eyes flicker to one side, then look back at her. Then she logged off altogether. "_I guess asking outright wasn't the right thing to do." _she thought.

Curly was still their prime suspect. Every single member of the old gang thought it was him. But if they were going to find Rhonda and discover if they were right or wrong, they needed expertise from Phoebe.

"Since Rhonda's able to go on Facebook now, it might be easier to hack into her account and see if there is any indication of where she is staying, now she's logged on from a computer in her location. Facebook has started trying to pinpoint where the computer is, and this might give us some indication of her whereabouts. If so, we may be able to go down there, and see if we can find her."

Rhonda wasn't on Facebook over the next few days. Curly had been a little bit nervous when Nadine had asked her directly who had her, so it was a relief (and triumph) when Rhonda's eyes had simply flickered in his direction before she logged off.

There was a moment of silence before she asked "Can I still talk to her?"

"Of course." Curly answered, not missing a beat. He tried for a small sign of affection, just putting an arm around her. Rhonda didn't shy away like she would have only a week ago. "You haven't done anything. She asked you a question, you didn't answer. She won't be stupid enough to ask the same question again."

Rhonda sighed. She still couldn't get angry, but she still missed her family and her old life. "It's so hard, being here, you know? Having to keep it a secret that it's you..."

The two of them sat down on the couch, Curly keeping one arm around Rhonda. She subconsciously leaned against him. "I know, I know." he whispered. "I just don't want anyone to find us. I love – I mean, I care about you so much, Rhonda, yet you seem to hate me. Do you really?" He kept back from saying he loved her at that moment. It might just remind her why she was so angry at him to begin with.

Rhonda paused in thought, and then sighed again. "No. I thought I did. I convinced myself I did. But now you've asked me, I don't really hate you. I guess...I maybe kind of like you. Maybe I more than like you."

Curly smiled. This wasn't his manic smile, this was a sweet, soft, happy smile. He lowered his glasses enough for his dark blue orbs (that still had myopia) to stare into Rhonda's dark brown. As Ice Princess-style beautiful as she was, those eyes were warm. They were one of the things that made him fall in love with her. They were the softest part of her, and he could have just stared into her eyes for ever.

Finally, Curly made his move. He leant in, not going the whole way in experimentation. He waited for several moments. Just as he was about to give up, soft lips met his. He still remembered the times he'd kissed her before against her will, but this time, Rhonda was kissing him back, and it felt so much better, because she wanted it too.

When she broke away, Curly asked the question. "Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd...I've wanted to ask this for so long. I promise to love, cherish, and honour you forever. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Rhonda looked at him for a long moment before she nodded. She didn't love him yet, but at that moment, both of them believed fully in what Curly had hoped for all along...that one day, Rhonda would feel the same way he felt about her. For now, it was enough that she was willing to give him a chance, to really truly be his girlfriend.

Rhonda sighed, suddenly. "You know, I just realized something." she said, frowning.

"What is it?" Curly asked.

"Remember that goofy T-shirt you made me wear in fourth grade?" she asked.  
"Of course."

"Well...I guess I really am Curly's girl now." She sighed again. "I'm never going to live that title down... at least, if anyone finds out about us."

Curly laughed and kissed Rhonda again, for longer this time. "Hey, I like that title." he murmured against her skin, holding her close.

Rhonda smiled again. "I suppose I can live with the title...but I'll need compensation." She said teasingly. Then she put on a heartbreaking expression and asked in her most pleading voice "Can I go shopping? Please? I need to get out sometime."

Curly raised an eyebrow at her. "Rhonda, you _are _aware that you do go out every single day?" Rhonda gave him a _you know why I'm asking _look and he laughed. "You don't have to make an excuse to want to go shopping, beautiful. Incidentally, if I let you go alone, you would come back?"

Rhonda smiled sincerely. "Of course I would. But as I would probably get lost on my way back, maybe you should join me. Besides, do you realize how much better you would look if you got contacts like me instead of those hideous glasses? That geeky look is so last decade. Our first stop should be an optical clinic." Rhonda had briefly worn glasses herself when her fourth-grade eye test revealed that she needed them, but she'd switched to contacts about a month after. She knew for a fact that when Curly didn't wear glasses, he had nice eyes. She'd briefly seen him without his glasses a few times, the first time being when he was crying in fourth grade after he dumped her in the cafeteria as a merciful act. That one glance just before they kissed had reminded her.

Curly grinned back at her. "To the optical clinic then. Lead the way, my queen."

Rhonda pretended to sigh in exasperation. "Last I checked, you were the one who knows this town. But anyway, yes, let's go."

However, that was when the two of them ran into trouble. The minute they got out of the car, the TV news spot on Rhonda's disappearance caught up. People began whispering, and then a motherly-looking woman ran up to Rhonda and addressed her.

"Excuse me for asking, dear, but are you by any chance Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, the girl who went missing?"

Rhonda didn't know how to reply. She glanced at Curly.

"She is! I recognize her from the news!" A man called. "And I recognize that one too," He pointed to Curly. "He's the one that her friend thought kidnapped her in the first place."

Rhonda thought fast. "He didn't kidnap me!" she lied. "We...er...we were eloping! My parents don't approve of us," She gestured to her and Curly's entwined hands, "So we had to run. We didn't want to tell anyone where we were going."

Rhonda could only hope that her words would have some effect as the two of them went into the optical clinic.

**So, now Rhonda's given in, how will this affect things? Please review!**

**And, if anyone does fanart, would you be interested in drawing a scene from this fanfic? I can give info on how the characters might look different.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So...what else is going on? Let's find out. Thanks for your reviews, 1st cavusarmy and Beth.**

Things didn't improve during the day. Several people recognized Rhonda from the news and kept asking her if she was who she was. She was She kept to the original story she made up – that she and Curly had left town so they could be together, since the parents didn't approve.

"Nice cover." Curly had commented. "Even I hadn't thought of a good story."

Rhonda smiled as they entered their apartment. "So...are we ever going home? Or telling anyone where we are? I have to admit," she whispered as the two of them flopped onto the sofa. "I wouldn't mind if we never went back."

Curly hadn't thought that far. He'd carefully planned out every single detail of actually getting everything arranged – taking Rhonda away, getting an apartment, making a living...but he'd never thought far enough about what he'd do once Rhonda willingly became his girlfriend.

"Why, Rhonda," he teased, "You said a few weeks ago that you wished you were home." He wrapped an arm around her again. She put her head on his shoulder.

"That was before I realized what it was like for me here." she said softly. "I do sometimes wish I was at home – I don't like having to keep us a secret from my friends. I miss my house and my parents. I miss critiquing everyone else. But I'm not nine years old any more, I'm eighteen, and I know that in spite of not having the home comforts I'm used to, this was the best you could do. And at the start, I don't know why you didn't just give up on me or anything. You still did everything you could to make me like this life."

"I love you so much, Rhonda." Curly whispered. "I've loved you since we were kids." He sighed. "I know I wasn't very good at expressing it in a way that you'd accept, but I was just desperate to be near you."

Rhonda lifted her head for a moment and stared into the glasses that still covered Curly's eyes (although she'd made sure that her finances would mean he'd have contact lenses ready within ten days). "So you won't do those kind of things any more?" she said. "I don't mean the big things, I mean the stuff like stealing my accessories, getting unnecessarily close to me, telling the world I'm your girlfriend, coming out of nowhere to try and make out with me..."

Curly laughed. It wasn't the manic laugh she was used to, though, this laugh was short and sounded normal, a laugh that didn't make him sound insane. "Well...I may continue a few of those things," he joked, "But on the whole, what I'll continue is part of what you agreed to when you said yes."

"I know, I know." Rhonda sighed. She kissed him again. "Being your girlfriend is definitely going to take some getting used to."

Rhonda was right. Although she found that she was, indeed, fast falling in love as the days passed, she still didn't take anything that she deemed "weird". She still yelled at Curly if he started doing something stalkerish like breathing in the scent of her hair when they weren't already curled up together. And if he started staring at her for a long time for no reason, she'd make some snide remark. But for the most part, they got along better than Rhonda could've ever imagined. She was very happy, and Curly was sure that his plan couldn't have worked out any better.

Approximately five days later, Rhonda was on Facebook again. It was in the early evening, when Rhonda got a video chat request from Phoebe. When she accepted, the chat revealed several of the old gang, the guys and the girls.

"Oh Rhonda, it's just ever so nice to see you again!" gushed Lila.

"Rhonda, are you OK?" Arnold asked.

"We're trying to track your address via Facebook." Phoebe whispered so no one else who could've been in the same room as Rhonda could hear. "It says that you're about three hours away from Hillwood."

"Guys, it's fine." Rhonda reassured them. "You don't have to try to find me, I'm absolutely fine. Better than fine."

"So...what actually happened?" asked Sheena shyly. "Can you tell us?"

Rhonda looked over at Curly for the answer. She knew they wouldn't buy her "eloped" story. Once she got it, she said "Well, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Not your parents, not the police, not anyone. I'm happy where I am. I want to be here."

"But where are you?" Nadine questioned. "Do you know?"

"Not really." Rhonda said. "I'm in an apartment on the ninth floor, but seriously, I don't want to tell you what happened because I know how you'll all react and you'll refuse to believe how happy I actually am. I have pretty much everything I want, including my credit cards."

"Boy howdy, whoever it was thought of everything." Sid muttered. He still used that expression.

"Rhonda, are you sure you don't want us to come?" Phoebe asked shyly. "I mean, we'd all like to see you."

"I'd like to see you all too." Rhonda admitted. "I'm just not sure if..." She looked over at Curly again and mouthed "_Can they come here?"_

Curly looked thoughtful, then he grinned and nodded.

Rhonda smiled and told her friends "You can come over if you want to. I assume you know where I am from Facebook?"

"Yes."

"OK, so what about coming over in, say, a week?"

"OK, we'll see you next Thursday afternoon, is that OK?" Lila asked.

"Sure." Rhonda grinned. "Love you guys, see you then!" She ended the chat.

She was about to turn back to the sofa, but she had only just realized that Curly was gone from there when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and suddenly she was dipped so low her hair brushed the ground and she was trapped in a kiss.

"Curly, please, stop with the sneak attacks!" she said after they finished the kiss. "I'd be happier if you had just swung me over your shoulder and taken me to the couch."

Curly put Rhonda down and quoted a children's movie with a smirk. "Well, I guess I am no one's messenger boy... but I am a delivery boy."

"What?" Rhonda said blankly, not getting it.

"_Shrek, _Rhonda." Curly grinned. "Play along. Take two: I'm a delivery boy."

Rhonda smiled back as she said her line. "You wouldn't dare."

And with that, Curly did exactly what she'd suggested – carrying her over his shoulder and then, after sitting down himself, putting Rhonda down on his lap, positioning her sideways so her lower legs rested on the couch. "You're more beautiful than any princess." he whispered in her ear.

Rhonda enjoyed the moment, but she wondered what it would be like come Thursday.

**So...what will happen when the rest of the gang comes? Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, let's go. Thank you for reviewing, Beth and 1st cavusarmy.**

By Thursday, not much had changed, except that Curly had gotten his contacts. He looked so different without glasses, although Rhonda admitted that she wouldn't mind if he wore the glasses some of the time – but she added that she liked seeing his eyes. They both thought over whether he should stay away or be there.

"They'll probably watch for you." Rhonda had said anxiously. "If you stay here, they'll be calling the police for sure. They'll recognize you, even without glasses."

Curly didn't seem concerned at all, but then, he rarely did. "Give them the story, Rhon'. They'll swallow it."

"Some of them will," Rhonda said, "But only some of them. Nadine and Lila know me too well, so they won't. If Helga turns up with them, she definitely won't buy it, being a lying mastermind herself. Phoebe and Arnold are bound to start asking questions, too." She sighed. "I wish I hadn't told them they could come over now. I'm not going to give them that bullshit story I told everyone else. There's no way all of them will believe me. But if I tell them the truth..." She let her voice trail off.

"It's simple." Curly said abruptly. "Just tell them that you wanted to go."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "One problem, genius. You drugged me, remember? It was on the news. There's no way they'll believe I wanted that, as well. Sure, I want to be here with you now, but everyone knows how much I..." Her eyes lit up. "I know! Let's say the drug was nothing to do with you. That you saw someone slip it into my drink, and that you didn't have time to stop me from consuming it, but you immediately took me out so no one could take advantage of me. Let's say we were already dating before prom, but I wanted to keep it secret so no one would tease me or talk about that brief thing in fourth grade. So we were already planning to stay in the same place in a different town, and you decided to just come here straight away. It seemed like a kidnap because I hadn't told anyone. I mean, they'd expect that kind of thing." She finally smiled. "OK, I've got the story."

When the doorbell rang at two o'clock, Curly had gone out for something anyway. Rhonda counted herself lucky, because although he'd probably be back by two thirty, she'd have a chance to explain everything. She opened the door to find the whole group outside, looking expectant.

Lila and Nadine immediately threw themselves at their friend, hugging her and practically crying in happiness.

"I can't believe it!" Nadine cried. "I missed you so much!"

"We all missed you!" Lila chimed in. "We're just ever so happy that we were able to visit!"

Helga had turned up, hand in hand with Arnold. "Criminy," she smirked. "Give her some breathing space. So Princess, what's been going on?" Rhonda suspected her presence had more to do with a certain influential moral boy. Not to mention, she still called her "Princess", even if it was less scornful than when they were kids.

"Hi, Rhonda." Arnold smiled.

The other boys ran in and all greeted Rhonda. Eugene, ever the jinx, tripped over. Sheena almost immediately helped him up. Gerald was the last of them to walk in, holding hands with Phoebe.

"I guess I owe you all an explanation." Rhonda sighed. "I'm really sorry I hadn't explained already."

"So...you aren't being watched?" Sheena asked. "From what I heard, you said you were-"

"I know, I know." Rhonda said. "He's out."

"Out?" repeated Harold. "How can he keep you here if he's not watching you?"

"Simple." Rhonda grinned. "He's not keeping me here. He never was, we'd been planning it for weeks."

"Wait a second." Nadine said. "Back up. You went here with someone because you...because you wanted to?"

Rhonda sighed. "OK, first things first. Everyone, you might wanna sit down. This could take a while, and and I really don't want anyone to jump up and call the police without hearing me out."

There were just enough chairs and sofas for everyone to have a seat.

Rhonda began. "As you all know by now, I went to prom on my own. But the thing was, I was in a secret relationship. Sid, Harold, that's why I said no to both of you."

Nadine caught the implication. "Rhonda, Curly also asked you to prom, right?"

Rhonda nodded. "We had actually been dating before that. But I wasn't ready for everyone to actually find out. Of course, now I have to tell you."

There were different exclamations all around the room. It was only a full three minutes before Rhonda could continue.

"As the news said, there was some kind of drug slipped to me. There's still no clue to who did it, but Curly saw someone do it, and he got me out of the house so no one would take advantage of me. We'd been planning to run off together, anyway, and I wasn't really happy that he'd decided to take me off straightaway, but I'm happy here now."

By this time, the whole group was staring at her.

"But, Rhonda..." Nadine said. "Then why did you always act like you hated him?"

Gerald smirked, casting a sly glance at Arnold and Helga, who were leaning on each other. "Well, considering that Pataki here kept claiming to hate Arnold..."

"Oh, shut up, Tall Hair Boy." Helga shot back good-naturedly. The lack of harshness in her tone was a clear indication that dating Arnold had been really good for her, socially speaking.

"So let me get this straight." Phoebe said. "Rhonda, you say that you and Curly were in a secret relationship, but you pretended to the outside world that you hated him because you were scared of what people would say, correct? You'd been making plans to run off here together after graduation. After prom, someone slipped you a drug, and Curly saw this, couldn't stop you from consuming it, so got you out of the house so no one with ill intent could take advantage. And because you'd been planning to leave, anyway, you left that night. So why didn't you contact anyone before you sent that Facebook message to Lila?"

Rhonda visibly blushed. "Well...about that...we kind of forgot to bring my mobile and the computer kept malfunctioning. It took ages to get it set up, and the first time the Internet worked was the time Curly got that message from Brainy."

Nadine frowned. "Wait, didn't Curly have a phone? His parents said he'd called, letting them know he was OK. He never mentioned you."

This was getting distressing for poor Rhonda. She had run out of alibis, and finally, she cracked. "Fine!" she cried. "But you all have to promise you won't tell anyone, especially the police." The group nodded. "I want to be here now, I couldn't be happier...but at the start, Curly had to do a lot of convincing to get me to want to stay. But," she added, now lying but more transparently, "It wasn't really kidnap and the drug was nothing to do with him!"

The others were all looking at her in disbelief. It wasn't the confirmation that Curly had taken Rhonda against her will. It was that she said she wanted to stay with him.

A few of the students sent warning glances towards the ones who would start asking questions. Most of the boys were insensitive, but most of the gang knew that pressing the issue would just make Rhonda get defensive. So they just made small talk for a bit longer.

It got harder after Curly arrived back. He, of course, treated it like a normal situation, but the group didn't know what to say, now they knew some of the truth.

It was only after they left that they started talking freely, again. "Well," said Phoebe, "That was very interesting. And very informative."

"How come?" Gerald asked. "All I got from it was that Curly finally got what he wanted: Rhonda. And now she wants him back."

"Not exactly, Gerald." Phoebe explained. "Rhonda's new attachment to Curly is probably due to a common condition that many hostages have experienced in which they become affectionate towards the person who is holding them. She isn't really in love with him – she just thinks she is, if even that. My point is, she doesn't really care about him as much as she thinks she does."

"So what's the diagnosis, Professor Phoebe?" Helga teased.

Phoebe looked around at her friends. "I believe that Rhonda has developed Stockholm Syndrome."

**I'm sorry, Helga was probably a bit OOC there, but I figured that she'd mellowed out a bit since dating Arnold. Also, I don't know Nadine very well, so I hope she was OK. Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Let's concentrate a bit more on the others, shall we? Thanks for reviewing, 1st cavusarmy and Beth.**

As everyone travelled back to Hillwood, Phoebe explained what she meant by that. "It was inevitable that Rhonda would change within a month of being there. Stockholm Syndrome can describe emotional ties between two people when one, in some way, intimidates the other. Given that she was being held hostage, I think it's safe to say that this is exactly what's happened. It's a self-preservation mechanism in a hostage situation. I'm not sure of the exact psychological implications, but from what I can gather, Rhonda would have hated being in this situation, but the generally optimistic part of her was trying to help her enjoy what she could, which she gave in to. This gave her the illusion that she actually wanted to be there, and in turn, that she actually reciprocated Curly's previously unrequited feelings."

"So what you're saying is that she actually doesn't really want to be there, she just thinks she does?" Nadine whispered.

"This is just ever so confusing." exclaimed Lila. "And I'm certain that it's up to us to rescue her from this."

"She seems happy, though." Eugene said. "She's not in danger, is she? I mean, I know Curly at least well enough to know that he'd never intentionally hurt Rhonda, of all people."

"That's one of the reasons why she's developed it." Phoebe explained. "Being in a hostage situation often leaves the victim helpless. But sometimes, when Rhonda was talking, it felt like she was just as she always was, doing everything she enjoys doing – you know, shopping and things. I concluded that the only thing Curly did that was an act against her was keeping her there. He was in a position of power, but she perceived most everything he did as an act of kindness."

"I think I read a story about this kind of thing once." Helga said. "I don't think there's anything we can do, if she's already developed it. Just leave it there. She's happy, we're happy, Curly got what he wanted, therefore there's no problem."

"I think I know what the problem is." Harold spoke up. Everyone stared at him. He wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. "What?" he said. "I do know how to read. OK, so _maybe _me and Patty were discussing it a few months ago. But what I mean is, if things go on like this, Rhonda won't want to be around us."  
"That's pretty much correct." Phoebe confirmed. "Eventually, a victim of Stockholm Syndrome will cease to like being around anyone except her captor. Even if Rhonda decides to leave, she'll probably continue praising Curly. I could tell, even there, that she was less at ease if any of us said anything that sounded critical. She'll turn against us immediately if we criticize Curly or say anything against either of them. But Helga's right, there's not much we can do. The damage is already done, and it could take years, even decades of therapy to get Rhonda to even be able to get past this incident."

"This isn't right." Sheena exclaimed. "It's not fair that Rhonda has to be there, and I wish we could have found her earlier. Didn't you say that this means we're going to lose her for good?"

Phoebe nodded soberly. "To get her out, we'd have to kidnap her ourselves, and there's no way we can stop her from thinking anything she wants. It's like brainwashing, and there's no easy way out of it."

There was a short pause.

"I don't believe her about the drug, that they don't know who put it in Rhonda's glass. I know most of you didn't, either." Nadine said out of the blue. "It's pretty obvious that this set-up is way too far-fetched. I wanted to confront her about it-"

"I know, I know." Lila said. "But we didn't say anything because she'd just deny it. There's no way we can prove that it was Curly who slipped it to her, though, unless one of them says so."

Arnold was looking thoughtful. "I don't know what we should do. We can't talk to Rhonda because she can't see reason. We promised we wouldn't go to the police, but do you think we should?"

"No." Phoebe said firmly. "For one thing, we don't have enough proof. We all know that Curly took Rhonda against her will by force, but Rhonda insists that it wasn't by force. The only one who can confirm our story clearly is Curly. When it comes to Rhonda, he'll do absolutely anything, so that's not going to help."

Back in the apartment, Curly and Rhonda were curled up together on the sofa, watching a rerun of an old _Simpsons _episode. That was something they had in common – they both loved the yellow-skinned cartoons. Rhonda considered it a guilty pleasure compared to most of the interest she got out of her luxurious lifestyle, but she hadn't minded admitting it to Curly, because she knew that he never thought of her in terms of her wealth or social class.

The first commercial break began, and Curly pulled Rhonda closer so he could kiss her. She reciprocated eagerly. He had definitely improved at kissing since he used to sneak attacks on her back when they were little kids.

"We need to talk about something." Rhonda whispered breathlessly when she managed to break away. She had guessed what her friends had been thinking, and she could only hope they didn't do anything. Now, she felt, was the perfect time to broach the subject, "The thing is-"

It wasn't the right time.

"We don't have to talk." Curly interrupted, placing a kiss just below Rhonda's ear, a very sensitive spot.

"But really-" Rhonda began, trying to hold back the lust that threatened her, but her captor/boyfriend knew exactly how to get her to let go of her point. From the day she'd said yes, he'd taken every chance he'd had to experiment, and by now he had all the knowledge on how to make his princess melt.

"Come on, sweetheart. We'll talk later." He whispered, placing feather-light kisses down her neck. Rhonda gave him better access, tilting her head back and letting out a peaceful sigh. By the time the commercial break ended, neither Rhonda nor Curly had eyes for the drama of Homer's sudden obsessive friendship with his neighbour. Even if the police had broken in at that moment and arrested Curly for kidnapping Rhonda, neither of them would have looked up from their heated embrace or broken their lips apart from each other.

As long as they were together no one could burst their bubble of joy.

**Yep, kind of a corny line there, but I don't care. Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Now, what's next? Oh, and yes, the movie they're watching IS "Hairspray", which I don't own. And speaking of musicals, if you don't know that "schadenfraude" means, look up the song of the same name from "Avenue Q" on YouTube unless you feel really strongly about swearing. As always, thanks for reviewing, Beth, sharecrow and 1st cavusarmy.**

Sometimes, when Rhonda was on her own, she thought back over the years. She couldn't ever keep her mind completely off Curly nowadays, but she thought about what it had been like with them before this. Her mind sometimes distorted the facts, making them romanticized, which sometimes made Rhonda wonder if her reactions, which she remembered clearly, were justified and rational. That week they'd been dating in fourth grade was romanticized especially, although not all of it was. She remembered that first Monday on the bus, and Curly's child voice echoed through her head, announcing to everyone there "_That's right, folks! Rhonda's my girlfriend!"_

Rhonda couldn't remember the absolute humiliation she felt when he said that, but now, just hearing those words from him made a warm feeling spread through her.

"Is this love?" she wondered silently. That was a question she'd had to ask herself several times over the days. Curly had told her that he loved her several times, but she still hadn't said it back. She liked being, as both of them had labelled it, "Curly's girl", but she still couldn't work out if her feelings were as strong as love, or if she simply liked and cared for him deeply.

She smiled to herself, remembering the fake secret admirer letter she once sent. One thing she wasn't blind to is how much Curly's appearance had changed since that day. Sure, the lack of glasses made a huge difference, but even before that, ditching the bowl cut and growing taller, gaining a few muscles...it had made a huge difference. Sure, she'd barely noticed him back in school, and if she had said anything, it was because he'd asked her out or he'd tried to hit on her or do something stalkerish, but now, she'd actually given him enough attention to appreciate the way he looked, even when he still had those glasses on and his deep blue eyes weren't visible.

"_Do I love him?" _Rhonda wondered, trying to work out the answer to that question. She would have talked it out with one of her friends on Facebook, now she knew the password to the laptop, but the only ones she could consider talking to about boy troubles hadn't been on Facebook as of late, and she had known they weren't quite as accepting of her new situation as she'd wanted.

Rhond mulled over the question for several days, nearly a week before she came to a conclusion. But that night, she was ready to voice it.

It was just as every night had passed. Usually, the two of them would start off innocently watching something on the couch. Rhonda had insisted on getting a DVD player before they'd actually been an official couple, and used her credit cards to buy one. After that, they rented DVDs several times. That night, it was a colourful movie musical set in Sixties Maryland. Rhonda had chosen it, and apart from the musical aspect of it, it was mainly a rom-com. Although it was primarily directed at females, Curly's sense of drama meant that he actually found some enjoyment in it. Even if he hadn't liked the movie, he usually just concentrated on the fact that his own romance movie, the impossible dream, had come true – that his beautiful Rhonda was his at last. Anyway, it would usually start off innocently, but usually, usually, by the time they were 45 minutes in, they had long forgotten the movie and started making out. This time, they had seemed to forget completely about the movie after the fourth song, "_I Can Hear The Bells". _Maybe it was only to be expected, since the song was the main character dreaming about dating the boy she had a crush on. By the time she got halfway through the second verse (_"Round three is when we kiss inside his car, won't go all the way but I'll go pretty fa-ar") _the couple on the sofa were staring into each other's eyes, attached at the lips like they were glued, only ever breaking apart for air.

It was much further into the movie when Rhonda said it. It had gotten to a romantic song that wasn't really very memorable but went on for much too long. At the time, Curly had pinned Rhonda to the couch and was leaning over her. This, Rhonda thought, was the only time she actually didn't mind not being in control.

There was one more kiss before Rhonda whispered "I love you."

Curly hadn't expected her to say that for a long time, and he couldn't stop the (manic) grin that spread over his face (thankfully, seeing his eyes made it a little less disturbing). "As I love you." he murmured back, holding his girlfriend close. Rhonda hooked her legs around and looped her arms around his neck, clinging onto him.

It was only during the finale of the movie when either of the couple looked up at the screen. As the main couple kissed for the first time, they did the same thing to the Sixties-style music, their full attention on each other.

Both Curly and Rhonda thought that this had to be one of the best moments of their lives. Before this had happened, Rhonda's happiness always had a touch of bitterness or material attachment. In spite of her numerous boyfriends, she'd never really experienced real love...at least, not as intense as this. Her happiness had a tendency to come from pleasurable guilt and schadenfraude when she spread gossip as revenge on someone, or pride at the new shoes, clothes or accessories she'd just bought.

As for Curly, he'd never really felt something this close to happiness. Sure, whenever Rhonda was close, even before this, he'd thought that was true happiness – love. But it had never been this strong, for as long as she had rejected him. The best feeling he'd had, besides that, was the moments when one of his crazy ideas paid off, the pure exhilaration he felt when lobbing kickballs at his elementary school principal, or pulling the fire alarm back in fourth grade. But in between acting insane and being near his princess, he was usually feeling low. He didn't show it in public, putting on a smile, but his family had noticed it, to the point where they even had him tested by a psychiatrist who said it wasn't serious enough to be treated, but it was pretty near bipolar disorder. That was in seventh grade, and nothing had gotten any worse, but it seemed like having Rhonda had helped him become more real.

That night, Curly watched Rhonda for a long time as she slept, content to do so until he was too tired to fight to stay awake. "I love you, my sweet angel." he murmured as he closed his eyes.

**Hey, just a question...has anyone caught the implications over Curly watching Rhonda sleep? This idea was not originally mine, and was inspired by the actions of the world's creepiest fictional teenage love interest...if you know it, let me know...and REVIEW!**


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